Environmental

Is been a long time since the last time I driven for more than 10 hours ... We added more than 2,000 miles from Sammamish, to Yellowstone, WY and back. This is one snapshot (more like a 3 brackets HDR) somewhere in Montana ...

On my visit to DC I took my tripod and was able to take a few shots of the classics thanks to the help from my friends ...

After taking the classic reflection shot, i realized there was this little puddle on one side of the reflecting pool and even with mosquitoes having an anxiety attack, I decided to go down on the lawn and give it a shot ... so I guess this is not your typical shot ...

Yesterday I learned that on May 26, this 115-year-old farm house was declared Sammamish first official historical landmark and had to take action as I have been "thinking" of taking a shot since we passed by this house when we moved to Sammaish almost 4 years ago.

This is a 5 exposure HDR. Processed with Photomatix and CS4. Nikkor 16-35 @ f8. Camera on tripod.

There is a science-fiction-like skybridge in my building ... automatic (presence based) opening doors and everything ... when you're on your own you can only hear the whisper of the airconditioning system, feels like 2001 space odissey ...

Have been waiting for a while for the right sky to shoot, this was not perfect sky but good enough ... I played with a few treatements in CS4 until I got to this one that my son really liked (told me seemed like from the Megamind movie) so I think this works for the science fiction look ...

Just if there was any doubt that the sunsets in Seattle were among the most beautiful nature scenes in the planet, here are my 2 cents.

Just went visiting Gas Works Park on a sunday afternoon back in January and was welcomed with this unbeliavable color show, I swear I didn't apply saturation at all, no HDR, just cropped to remove some stuff at the bottom ... hand held as I didn't even bring my tripod this time around ...

I was walking around NYC, with a few more minutes before I had to head to the airport right after visiting Chase Jarvis' project Dassain at the ACE hotel ... So I took a peek at an area map my on my Windows Phone and realized there was a park (Madison Square Park) a few blocks from there ... decided to walk ... got to the park and nothing special seemed to be happening but then I noticed a huge white " thing" in the middle ... lucky me to find this huge surreal statue with all sorts of people sunbathing around ... yes, that is the empire state building behind the statue :-)

You can read more about this 44 feet tall statue here http://www.madisonsquarepark.org/things-to-do/calendar/jaume-plensa-in-madison-square-park but here's a summary: "Echo, Plensa’s commission for Madison Square Park, depicts a nine-year old girl from Plensa’s Barcelona neighborhood, lost in a state of thoughts and dreams. Standing forty-four feet tall at the center of the park’s expansive Oval Lawn, Echo’s towering stature and white marble-dusted surface harmoniously reflect the historic limestone buildings that surround the park. Both monumental in size and inviting in subject, the peaceful visage of Echo creates a tranquil and introspective atmosphere amid the cacophony of central Manhattan"

I visited the Marriott Marquis Atlanta last week, from the outside it seemed like a typical boring hotel building, but when inside and looked up, i was amazed by the organic shape, they looked to me like the chest of some alien form and the elevators up&down would actually make the thing come alive (like veins pumping blood).

So I decided to call this that way.

This is a 5 frame HDR, shot with the mighty nikkor 10-24 @ f8 and a Gorillapod

I visited the Marriott Marquis Atlanta last week, from the outside it seemed like a typical boring hotel building, but when inside and looked up, i was amazed by the organic shape, they looked to me like the chest of some alien form and the elevators up&down would actually make the thing come alive (like veins pumping blood).

So I decided to call this that way.

This is a 5 frame HDR, shot with the mighty nikkor 10-24 @ f8 and a Gorillapod

Seattle better known as the Emerald City has proven that propietary technology can coexist with open source, here is an ordinary sample where a bridge to 520 peacefully coexists with the arboretum. I know coexistence is not the same as interoperability but you get the idea.

This shot is probably the one I like from this morning visit to the Arboretum with photogeek Ankur. We never been there before to shoot, didn't have much time and the sun never rised so I guess i'm looking forward to continued visits to achieve our goal of capturing the fall colors.

BTW - tried to come up with a natural looking HDR - what do you think?

After like 3 tries (last february, then july) this week I finally got to get a shot Mt Rainier from reflection lakes ... it took like an hour or so of waiting for the right moment with the clouds uncovering the mountain and for the water to be still enough for a decent reflection to show up ... I guess some dramatic sunset color is missing but will try again ...